I know the grandparents love these...

Yes..the rest of the world..probably not so much. HAHA!

More Butte Photos

Spencer's Butte Hike..as seen through my sunglasses..really

So tonight was our hike. We headed out around 7 p.m. with our friends Dave & Kay Smith. We didn't do such a great job at gauging when the moon would appear. The sun set long before we ever caught a glimpse of the moon. The trek down the butte in the dark was adventurous to say the least! We may have made a few wrong turns and paved a new path, and even backtracked at least once but we were smiling and laughing all the way! What a great night with friends! We are blessed.

How does the cookie know???

So, let me start by saying I am not a follower of fortune cookies, but today's lunch out at a local Chinese restaurant left Mark and I both laughing. As some of you know I love to hike and I absolutely love when the moon is full, so when the two are presented as a pair my cup runneth over. Tomorrow night we have planned a hike up Spencer's Butte to watch the full moon rise. Today's fortune's in both my and Mark's cookies said, "Next full moon brings an enchanting evening." Ahhhhh.... how did the cookie know?

Really great picture of Katie that Daniel took.

God's Grace...as revealed to me by Yoshi

I love the nights where our family just hangs out together. Last night our entertainment of choice was in the form of a video game, Mario Kart Wii. Our son had rented the game for the week and had been looking forward all day to a match-up with his sister. My husband and I, wanting to embrace the moments of family time, joined in as well.
Video games can be quite entertaining, if you are of nimble fingers and quick reflexes. I possess neither. I play however, to see my son smile and because I know these opportunities will be gone before I know it. What I didn't expect, was to have God's Grace revealed to me in the form a little green...little green...what is a Yoshi anyway?
For those of you who are not quite literate in the world of video games and I fall into that camp. Mario Kart is a racing game. You choose your player and your vehicle and wait for signal to GO. I picked Yoshi (He has a friendly face), and a very cool looking motorcycle. The game is played with the four of us racing against each other on a track in some remote exotic location...or on some occasions..a mall. So there we were lined up side by side when the clock counted down to 1. "Press 'A' Mom, that's how you go." came the last minute instructions from my daughter. Off we went. Well, off they went, I apparently pressed A too soon and stalled my motorcycle. Yoshi was forgiving and soon we sped off. The track was a blur and I was all over the road. I saw up ahead road signs, big blaring arrows pointing to the right. Okay, I thought, I'm supposed to go right I get it. Thumb firmly holding down 'A' I used my left thumb to navigate the joystick to the right. I made it around the turn with precision only to find a sharp cliff off to my right. A cliff? Why are there cliffs? I didn't know there were going to be cliffs! My children whizzed by the cliffs without so much as a glance. My inexperience with the game led me promptly to the edge and then over. I felt my stomach come up in my throat just as anyone would when they are plunging to their evident demise. "That's it, I'm dead." I announced.
"No, you're not Mom, just wait." Sure enough there appeared a turtle with wings returning my dear Yoshi to the track. "Everyone gets to finish the race Mom." Cool. Yoshi experienced many plunges last night, but always was brought back to finish the course.
As I was falling asleep last night reliving some of the days events in my mind, I was suddenly struck with how my own life is very similar to the Mario Kart game. I have found myself on many occasions speeding through life watching for the turns and cliffs on the roads but not always navigating them correctly. When this happens I will usually run into a wall or veer off the course, or in some cases plunge off a cliff. It's in these moments that my Heavenly Father through His Grace, will pick me up and put me back on the track allowing me once again the opportunity to finish the race, this time learning from my mistakes and slowing down to allow time to safely complete the turns.

Who we are supposed to be..

I am a sucker for sappy movies. I love to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a box of Kleenex and let the waterworks flow. Without exception the movie that wins the award for most tissues consumed by me is "I am Sam", followed closely by, "Martian Child", vying for 3rd would have to be "The Champ" and " Monsters Inc." (Yes, you read that correctly Monster's Inc makes me cry)

As I scan over my list of favorites I realize that there is a common thread that weaves it's way through each; unconventional relationships that work really well. There's a line in Martian Child that goes like this: "Why can't you just be what we all want you to be?" I love that line because it makes me think outside of the context of the film to the real world. Why do we do this to people? Why should we want to change who God created them to be? I believe we all have a tendency at times to look with a quizzical eye at relationships that for some reason or another seem out of the range of normal to us. What we fail to do is look further beyond what on the surface perplexes us to the underlying reason of why the relationship works.  There are some film makers who are extremely adept at revealing the reason to their audience before the characters discover it themselves.   It's not that the characters have some big revelation or undergo a major personality change, it's that they are coupled with someone who allows them to be exactly who they are supposed to be without rejection or expectations. To watch it on the screen is a delight. To see it unfold in real life....a gift.

Blooper Reel

Dance Dress

Homesource had their end of the year dance last night. Here is Katie pre-dance.

Reflective mood

I was thinking this morning about selfishness, and how we get caught up in living our lives often times oblivious to those around us who are in need.  I know I am guilty of this.  I was reminded this morning of something though, something I will share with you all.  A reason for me to reflect upon how I almost wasn't which in turn would have meant my kids almost weren't..and so forth.

This will require a little work on your part though.  Open this link 

http://www.carnegiehero.org/search.php  then under first name type in Rene.  Under last name type in Charest.  Click submit.  On the next page click the Rene R.  Go ahead..I'll wait...the post won't have the same meaning unless you do. 

Rene (pronounced ree nee) Charest, my dad, at the age of 23 and already with 4 children at home (I was not one of them), set an example for me of unselfishness, before I was even born.  It was quite possible that my dad could have died that day and thus this blog would not even exist as I would not exist.  I'm not sure I have ever really contemplated that or have been grateful to God for protecting my Dad as he gave of himself.  

These thoughts have stirred up in me how I often times become so over-protective of me, my family and my life that I turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to those around who may be drowning. Often rationalizing that someone else will save them.  My Dad, when he recalled the story to a reporter those many years ago, said he didn't think, he just reacted.  I pray God would enable me to develop this trait.

Hmm..I should clarify this.  I definitely have the predisposition to react without thinking, but not in a positive, for others way. So my prayer would be that God would teach me to 'think before I act' when it comes to acts of selfishness..and 'act before I think' when it comes to acts of selflessness.

Adding 'comedian' to my job title

As my children have aged I've discovered that I have the innate ability to make them laugh. Sometimes they laugh with me, but more often they laugh at me.  I have become somewhat of an improvisational artist to them as I navigate through this life often times 'winging it'.  Don't get me wrong, my children love me, in fact I'm quite certain they worship the ground I walk on. Yes, yes I'm sure they said that this very morning.  But with their growing stature has also come their growing awareness of Mom's quirks.

At first these oddities were somewhat obscured from the outside world.  Existing only within the walls of our home and between my two precious ones and myself.  And then they learned to speak.  Mark would chuckle knowingly to himself as they would share with him some of the "Funny Mommy" moments of the day.

 Following the movie, Finding Nemo, my nickname promptly became Dory.  The location of my cell phone is a never ending source of comic material, and whenever I forget what I was going to say my family is quick to chime in with, "It probably started with Has anyone seen my....?"

My sensitivity and overactive tearducts lend themselves to some amusing moments as well. 

My sweet son, curled up on his father's lap last night, could not stifle his snickers as I wept through the movie we were watching.  A very low budget film, entitled Flywheel, which was filled with scene after scene of God's faithfulness.  The acting was mediocre at best, the video quality like that of a home movie, and yet I blubbered. 

What perhaps was the highlight of the night however, was the ability of Katie to recall one of my bigger blunders and to relate it in such a way that we all drifted off to sleep giggling.

We had spent the majority of Sunday and Monday cleaning out Daniel's closets and rearranging his room.  I realized that one of Daniel's favorite stuffed animals was in need of some 'refreshing'.  When he asked about it's location at bed-time I said, "Oh, I've put him in the laundry room to be washed."  Katie chimed in from her bed, "Mom, you can't wash those."

"Sure you can." I snapped back.  Then my beautiful daughter in her sweetest voice filled with encouragement and not a bit of sarcasm responded, "That's what you said about that other stuffed dog, ................May he rest in pieces."   

Yep, I can still hear them laughing.

Blog Tag

My friend Deanna, (I just love having a friend named Deanna), has dangled before me a game for which I have never played but am greatly intrigued and so I will take the bait. It's a game of blog tag and it goes like this:

1. Write the title to your own memoir using six words.
2. Post it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who tagged you.
4. Tag five more blogs.

My most recent post actually gave me the idea for my memoir title....

I Choose to See Blue Skies-

hmmm..now who to tag...

Bob,Sheila, Jen

unfortunately that's all the bloggers I currently know.

The sun is not shining..but the skies are blue in my world.

Often times I will be a little 'goofy' around my husband and kids and they will say,

 "The skies are always blue in Mom's world". 

 I think for the most part that is true.  There is a God in Heaven who allows me to live under His Amazing Grace, and I have wonderful people who surround me.  I find joy in simple things, like hearing my son play his guitar or the piano, or watching my daughter teach a classroom of kindergartners at church. The gentleness of my husband as he helps me stretch my shoulder. I'm almost certain in those moments I hear Louis Armstrong singing, What a Wonderful World.

God grants us moments to cherish, like the time a few weeks ago when our whole family was venturing up to BiMart to purchase some item that escapes me now.  Our kids were walking in with their arms around each other engrossed in some funny story, and an employee asked if they were really siblings. 

"It's so nice to see siblings who get along", he said.

 Mark and I squeezed each other's hands and just smiled and concurred with the man. "We are blessed".

I love our kids and rejoice in who they are becoming.  God even allows glimpses into what they will be in the future, I don't mean in the career sense, but in the type of adult they will be.  

Two nights ago our neighbor had a near disaster as she came home with her two young boys to find her home permeated with the smell of natural gas. Apparently the cleaning person had accidently turned on two of the burners on the stove while cleaning.  As fire engines lined our streets we invited the two small boys back to our house out of the rain, while their mother talked with the firemen.  It was 10:30 and Katie had already gone up to bed. When she heard us come in with the boys she came down to visit with them.  The youngest boy, who is 5, crawled up on Katie's lap and cuddled under a blanket.  I couldn't help but smile as I watched Katie's 'mothering instincts' come to light.  The hugs from her students at church and the squeals of the little one she babysits when they see her, foreshadows the woman she is becoming.

I've rejoiced in the giving nature of my son, Daniel. He has a heart that is full of compassion.  Whenever we are in a store check-out line and the clerk asks if I would like to "donate a dollar" to this charity or that.  Daniel will always look at me expectedly.  "It's only a dollar Mom".  I'll never forget the time we as a family were walking around the streets of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Daniel couldn't have been more than 5, and there was a man begging on the street. He held out a paper coffee cup and was asking for spare change.  This was Daniel's first experience with this type of thing.  He looked up at us quizzically and said, "What is he doing?" Mark explained that he was asking for money.  Daniel answered, "We have money Dad!" It just seemed simple to Daniel.  The man obviously needed money, so much so that he would ask a stranger for it, and we had money.  Sigh....living here in Eugene has opened his eyes some to the world of panhandling, but has not squelched his spirit of charitable giving.  For the most part Daniel is quiet, but he feels and thinks deeply, as is reflected in some of his lyrics and poems, and the way he plays his music.

So yes, the weather in Eugene today is bleak and gloomy, but in this Mom's world...

The skies are always blue!

Our son....sigh...

Here he is before his performance last week.  Daniel is kind of funny about having his picture taken, and about performing in front of people.  It just really isn't his 'thing'.  Hmmm..wonder which parent he takes after?  Okay, admittedly a little of both.  I do NOT like having my picture taken, but the performing part, well, most of you know I don't have a problem with that part.  Mark on the other hand is very capable of the performing part, but it's not very high on his list of things he likes to do.  As far as having his picture taken he really hasn't had much of a  choice with a wife who is shutter happy!

I'm Tired!

Here I sit,  10:18 in the evening, pretty much exhausted from an over-committed weekend.  The AHHA performance was this past Friday and Saturday nights, which pretty much meant that I spent Friday and Saturday during the day being a chauffeur.  The show was fabulous and Katie played her role magnificently .

 When I wasn't driving Katie to rehearsals I was assisting Mark at the plant with the task of remodeling our lobby area.  We really didn't think it would be too big of a job.  After all he and I have remodeled 6 houses, how hard could one lobby be?  HA! How hard indeed!  There were two things we needed to accomplish; remove the old carpeting, and paint the walls. A three hour job we thought, no problem we quipped, we'll be home in time to enjoy the sunshine before heading to Katie's performance.  Again HA!  As we began pulling up the carpet the first few pieces came up smoothly, all was going according to plan, then a little more muscle was needed to pull up the carpet, soon it was not budging no matter how hard we pulled or pleaded for that matter.  The old glue was playing a game of tug-o-war with us and we were losing!  Hours and I mean many hours (actually it took two days) later Mark had succeeded in getting the last piece of carpet to surrender.  The glue however was not about to give up without a fight.  Off to Jerry's to peruse the aisles for the most potent of glue killers.  (Okay, we know, Thou Shalt not murder..but you had to be there)  Armed with enough chemical warfare to wipe out an entire downtown highrise, or at least it's carpet glue, we set to work.  Carefully donning our safety glasses and protective gloves. (I have to throw that in, just in case my Mom reads this) My job was to brush on the chemicals, Mark's was to scrape it off, and Daniel's was to scoop it into a large dust pan and carefully dispose of it in the trash receptacle.  (It was actually a cardboard box, but that's really not important) Soon we had perfected our process and it became somewhat of a dance.  We had Mark's computer on and used his ITunes library to entertain us while we worked.  We rocked out to Queen, yodeled with Buck Owens, and praised with Mercy Me.  We finally made it home this even at 10:00 p.m.  Next weekend the real work begins, painting the lobby floor, installing the receptionist desk which I refinished a few weeks ago, and the final decorating touches.  And then I think I'm going to need a vacation!

A Better Reason to Run!

Thank you to my friend's Dave and Kay Smith for introducing me to this run! Sadly, after living here for 4 years I am just know learning of this wonderful resource center here in town! I am looking forward to the race as well as helping to further the work that LPSC is doing here in the community!

Ever heard of an incentive picture?

Okay..so here's my, "What I never ever want to look like again picture". Watching the videos with the kids the other day brought back some painful reminders of what I looked like back then. Wow! The picture was taken when we lived in VA, about 8 years ago. I don't even think I realized how out of control my weight had become. There were certainly no 1/2 marathon runs for me in those days. In fact I think the furthest I would walk was to the refrigerator and back. This month I am determined to once again be deliberate in my running. To pick a time and a day and get out there and run!

A trip down memory lane...and Mothers

We spent the afternoon yesterday watching family videos. All 4 of us curled up on the couch. Correction: all 5 of us, the dog joined in as well.

My kids rolled their eyes as I teared up at their baby pictures. There was a video of Katie with Mark's Mom, Kathryne (Katie's namesake) where they were at home waiting for the word from the hospital to find out if Katie had a new baby sister of brother.

I am so thankful for those films. Those moments where I am able to get a glimpse into my child, minus Mom and Dad's presence. Katie adored her grandmother. The two were mostly inseparable when Katie was a toddler. Grandma left us far too soon. We knew Grandma would most likely not see Katie grow up, we knew the day I delivered her. I delivered Katie by C-section and was not with Mark when he brought Katie out to show the waiting family. I wish I could have seen Mom's face when Mark told her our baby's name. It meant so much to us, she meant so much to us, we wanted her to know that she would always be remembered every time we looked at our daughter.

Then there are the videos with my own Mom. My child on her hip, just as natural as could be. Mom was born to be...well..a Mom. She began motherhood so early, just 18. She went on to have 6 other children in the following 9 years. 7 children, no maids, no live-in Nanny. She was and IS remarkable. At 68, Mom is still mothering. She and my Dad have been raising my nephew almost since birth. He is now 16. My mother taught my daughter to love yard sales, showed her how to find bargains and always shows up with some little something for my kids (and sometimes even for Mark and I) everytime she is here. The videos showed our children playing with Nana's latest 'find', their faces glowing and Mom's sheepish grin as she proclaimed, "I got it for 50 cents".

More videos and we are introduced to Grandma Donna. Mark's Dad's wife. Grandma Donna held nothing back. She accepted her new position as "Grandma" with such grace. She doted on Katie and cuddled with Daniel. She spoiled as all grandmother's do. At first, it was hard for Mark and I. Our sadness over the loss of Kathryne was profound. Donna never pushed and we were grateful. She loved Mark's Dad, that was clear and she was prepared to love his kids and grandkids as well. What we have found in this new "Mom" in our life we are so thankful for. I value her friendship, her laughter, her graciousness and our "secret looks".

God has blessed us with amazing mothers..I hope someday my children will say the same.

Mother's Day 2008

Today our annual tradition of hiking Spencer's Butte did not occur. Katie woke up not feeling well and so today I get to be Nurse Mom. And I count it a privilege. I think back over the years to how often I have worn that 'nurse' hat. Katie was an extremely healthy baby, she hardly ever even had the sniffles. She blew through the toddler years fairly smoothly as well. It was however, shortly after Daniel was born that Katie started having some very serious stomach problems. What at first we believed to be nothing more than a stomach bug lingered for weeks. Her coloring was very pale and she often would find herself running to the bathroom after only a few bites of food. At what was probably her 4th doctor's visit she had a stomach x-ray. The pediatrician noticed something 'abnormal' and sent us immediately an hour north to the Children's Hospital. After weeks of tests that a 4 year old should not have to endure, Katie was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I knew the disease well, having seen my father suffer with it for years. Katie was the youngest case in the state of California. She had specialist all over the country conferring on treatments. It began with a strong dose of steroids and antiiflammatories. We noticed only minor changes. Mark and I began praying fervently over her every evening. Our pastor and elders prayed over her sprinkling her with oil. Katie's attitude was phenomenal. She smiled through every blood test which were weekly events. What was the most amazing about Katie however, was her faith. She had known Jesus since she was 3. She had no problem sharing the "Good News" with whomever would listen. Jesus lived in her heart and He was going to see her through. One morning about 6 months into treatments Katie woke and came to Mark and I in the kitchen. She wanted to know if we had come into her room in the middle of the night. We assured her we had not. She replied she didn't think it was us and began to relay the story of someone coming into her bedroom and touching her on the head. With complete certainty she said, "It was Jesus, He came in and touched me on the head. I know he healed me."
Our now 5 year old daughter was looking at us and proclaiming her healing. We smiled and hugged her, but really, how was a parent to respond? That day we noticed that Katie's symptoms were absent. A fluke we thought. Oh, we wanted to believe, but alas our faith was weaker than our child's. A week passed with no symptoms. Katie's appetite returned. A month...could it be? Her follow-up appt. with the specialist left us with a caution of "don't get your hopes up, it (the disease) has probably gone into remission".
Mark's job starting taking us to new destinations. Our first stop was in Los Angeles for 6 months. We met with the specialist at the re-known Long Beach Children's Hospital. The doctor was impressed with Katie's progress and without looking at her original testing would have thought she was a healthy 5 year old. He instructed us to continue with the medicines.
Our next move was to Kansas City. Katie met with the Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Children's Mercy Hospital. Again, the doctor was impressed with how well she was doing considering what a sick child she had been, but cautioned us that remission probably wouldn't last much longer. We continued with the high-doses of anti-inflammatories, but she was now off the steroids. Katie would just grin through it all. The medicine seemed so silly to her. She knew Jesus had healed her.
Virginia became home next. Katie was now 7. We were matched up with a specialist at Virginia Tech's Medical Hospital. This visit however was different. This time we were dealing with a specialist who also was a believer. He perused Katie's medical records then requested we run some tests. We returned for a second visit and the results of the testing. "On the record, your child," he said, was misdiagnosed." Then he began to tell us that unless he had it documented in her records that she was misdiagnosed, she would run the risk of health care coverage and life insurance in the future. But knowing the healing power of Jesus. He trusted Katie's diagnosis. She had been healed. He had seen her original tests, he knew how bad it was. "They don't like us to put 'healed' on the records."
Katie was taken off all her meds and Mark and I learned a humbling lesson. "Unless you have the faith of a child."

I would experience a similar lesson years later, this time through my son Daniel. But this time, I remembered how God had healed Katie and I held onto his promises. Not necessarily that God would heal Daniel, but that Jesus would indeed see him through. Daniel's story started around the same time as this blog began. In fact this blog has it's roots in a venue for us to keep family updated on his condition.(Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome) Today, Daniel is healthy non-symptomatic and has been for over 3 years.

Reflecting back on it all today. I am so grateful for the Grace that God has extended to this Mom during my times of unbelief.

Daniel's Album Cover

So, here is the boy with his new guitar. He is now taking lessons for both guitar and piano. We refer to him as a young "Barefoot Boy" which is the nickname Mark has for Keith Urban. Oh, and his Science Fair project won first place at his "school".